


Like your blood knows the way

by TheSilverMaiden



Series: AU-gust 2020 [3]
Category: Metal Family (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Multi, Soul Bond, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2020-09-09
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:07:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26369215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSilverMaiden/pseuds/TheSilverMaiden
Summary: Day 3 — Soulmates AUThere was a time in which Glam thought he was broken.
Relationships: Sebastian "Glam" (Metal Family)/Victoria (Metal Family), past Sebastian "Glam" (Metal Family)/Ches (Metal Family)
Series: AU-gust 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1888756
Kudos: 18





	Like your blood knows the way

There was a time in which Glam thought he was broken. That his father’s contempt and abuse towards him was justified by the absences of tattoos in his body. For his progenitor, his unmarked skin was the undeniable proof that there was something rotten inside Glam. Something that needed to be mended if he wanted to be part of the family. 

The price he paid to be part of that family had been excessive, but this he understood until years later, when he realized that family love should be freely given and any price paid for receiving it is too much. 

It was in that huge house with the high ceilings that Glam learned to fear the silence. Sounds were produced within it, but none were capable of breaking it. His violin, the piano, the murmur of voices, his father’s shouts, the cry of his mother or his own muffled groans in some room. All resonated within it making it even more suffocating. 

\--------------

His first tattoo appeared in his left arm when the first notes of _We’re not gonna take it_ flooded his room. He had been so engrossed in the music that it was until the moment he moved to turn off the light, that he noticed the black lines extending from his wrist to the top of his forearm forming a pentagram with the first bars of the song. 

Months later, when Ches and him started living together, the brunet will confess that Glam’s mark had appeared the moment they met in the alley. The _f holes_ of a violin in the base of his neck. 

\--------------

Despite having compelling evidence, Glam had a hard time understanding that what was broken was not him, but his family. That the lack of connection with them had been caused by his father from the day of his birth. That perhaps remaining unmarked had been his body’s way of protecting him. 

No one was really one hundred percent sure of how tattoos worked. The basics were that when an important person appeared in your life, a tattoo would appear as a symbol of this bond. They could be triggered by a touch or a strong emotion, in addition, it was not strange that this was accompanied by a connection that allowed you to feel the other person’s strongest emotions. 

There was no specific scientific explanation for this phenomenon, the studies were still very new and the factors were so different from person to person that it seemed almost impossible to give an explanation. 

However, there are many myths around them. Like, the person with whom you share the strongest bond is your soulmate, if your tattoos appear in the same spot your personalities are more compatible and a bunch of other baseless beliefs. 

There were others that were supported by history. If someone marked you on the palm of your hand, that person will betray you, because that is where Brutus marked Caesar and Robespierre Danton. And his father’s favorite: if a father does not leave a mark in his child it is a sign that they would bring him ruin. It is said Philip left no mark on Alexander the Great and that the separation of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn became more evident when Elizabeth’s skin remained immaculate at the touch of the king. 

Nowadays, Glam could admit that this beliefs were stupid, but to understand it he had to experience by himself how different each bond could be and realize that this was only a little part of his relationship with the other person, not something that defined it. 

\--------------

There was a time when Glam was bothered by not being able to clearly feel Ches’ emotions, while the other seemed capable of touch his emotions with his fingers. 

“Man, you’re overthinking it.” The brunet told him in a calm tone, while tuning his guitar. “I don’t think there's a deep meaning behind all of this, maybe it has something to do with your body or with mine or something in the environment.” He turned to see him in the eye, and he gestured with his hand as if to catch the right words. “What I do think, is that you shouldn’t let this shit control your relationships. If you wanna know how I feel you can ask me. Imagine that this thing is just another sense, if you can’t feel the heat of the fire you other senses warn you that you may burn, you don’t need to put your hand there to check it.” 

In that moment Ches’ words didn’t make any sense, but still he decided to follow the advice. 

Over time he noticed that in fact he did not need the bond to understand the other, because there were signs everywhere. The slight variation in his voice when something was bothering him but he didn't want to say so, the small lifting in the corner of his lips when he was about to ask for something impossible, the way his fingers brushed against his when he was afraid of losing him in the middle of a crowd. 

Of course, a lot of things would be easier if the bond were clearer, but Ches argued that Glam had such a good control over his emotions, that it really didn’t matter that he could feel him with more precision, because most of the time Glam just sent a constant rhythm, like an old lullaby, which was sometimes interrupted by a complicated guitar solo. 

During the time they were together as a couple, Glam could feel the bond clarify at times. Then he understood why Ches compared the sensation to the rhythm of a song. Although if he had to compare it with something, the blond would say that it was like standing in front of a jazz band in constant experimentation. 

When he described this tha brunet shrugged and with a smirk in his lips said: 

“What can I say? I like to improvise. 

\--------------

Before meeting Vicky, Glam was sure that all his tattoos would come with almost imperceptibles bonds and he was at peace with that. 

But from the moment he started to follow the redhead to give back her heys, he could feel her loud and clear. It was like reading the music sheet of a song he’d known all his life. 

Vicky’s tattoo appeared in the hospital, but they didn’t know of its existence till the doctor took off the cast from her leg. Although he knew there was no hidden meaning, Glam was deeply happy to find their tattoos were in the same place. 

Victoria pretended to complain that her tattoo was simply the bridge and the pickups of an electric guitar with six thin lines on them, while Glam had a good sized flaming skull. 

\--------------

“I just think that it’s not fair that you can read me that easily.” It was a complaint that Glam’d heard multiple times leave his wife's mouth. 

“Oh Vicky, that isn’t thanks to the tattoo,” he responded one day. “One of things that fascinates me the most about you, is that your emotions are so strong and honest that I can just admire them in your face.” He couldn’t help but be completely enchanted by the embarrassed blush on Victoria’s face. Feeling the rapid rhythm of the feeling just made his smile wider. 

\--------------

His bond with Ches felt like several instruments at the same time, all seemed to play something different but if you really paid attention you could notice that they were harmonized in the same melody. Vicky’s was like drums, it could set from the simplest to the most complex rhythms, but every hit was clear and intentional. 

For Glam his bond with Vicky was like witnessing a dancer create the rhythm with her movements. The redhead’s every emotion and gesture was powerful on its own and he could be completely captivated by them, the bond only made them resonate more deeply. 

\--------------

During the first months of Victoria’s pregnancy, Glam’d been calm. He made all the investigation necessary to help his wife in the process, read every book on child development he could find and prepared the house for the arrival of his son. 

The panic began a couple of weeks before the delivery. 

“Everything’s gonna be fine dude,” this was the thousandth time Ches said those words. “The boy hasn't been born yet and you are already the best father he could have, and you know why?” The brunet stood up in front of him entering his personal space, and in a serious tone, completely unusual in him, he said: “Because you want to be his father, because you’re excited to be one and because the fear you have of screwing up shows how much you care.” 

Ches’ words managed to calm his anxiety, but holding Dee for the first time made it disappear.

Seeing his son’s wrinkled reddish face for the first time, he’d the same sensation as when an orchestra came together to break the silence of a concert hall. He felt his body vibrate deep within, causing an overwhelming sense of wonder that he couldn't explain. Tears of joy rolled down his face as he saw a _F-clef_ appear in the center of Dee’s chest. 

Later that night when he was getting ready to sleep, he discovered the same tattoo under his left wrist brace, big and proud above the scars left by his own father. When he finally fell asleep, Glam’s eyes were still wet. 

Heavy’s birth was less dramatic but no less exciting.

The little boy’s strength was overwhelming, his cries were deafening and the sounds he made when he liked something could fill the room. 

When Glam held him for the first time the sensation that ran through him was similar to when Vicky was particularly happy, a clear drums going at a fast constant rhythm, but it was accompanied by other instruments. It was like listening to one of those power metal songs that were about fantastic lands and great adventures. 

When Heavy’s little right hand held his finger, Glam felt a tingling on the right side of his neck. Later he would notice that in that place a _G-clef_ had appeared and matched the one his youngest son had on the back of his hand. 

\--------------

“I can’t believe that you made a biological phenomenon follow a theme.” Were Ches’ words when he saw Heavy’s tattoo for the first time.

“I guess that’s how my brain works,” he responded with a shrug. Ches couldn't stop laughing. 

Years later Glam would go back to that moment. 

\--------------

When Dee and Heavy started to have questions about the bonds he realized that to explain it he always went back to music. 

“When mom is very excited about something is like a _Terrana’s_ drums solo.”

“I know when Dee is having a bad day because it feels like a cello solo.” 

“I can sense when Heavy is planning something dangerous because I can feel the violins from the _Ride of the Valkyries_.”

The confusion on his children’s faces let him know that the descriptions mean nothing to them. 

Talking with Vicky, he could make a clearer conclusion. 

“I don’t know anything about violins, drums or double tempos,” she said as she settled next to him on the bed. “But when Heavy is happy I feel the impulse to jump on something, sometimes when you’re stressed out my body wants to start running all over the house, and when Dee is having a problem to solve something I just want to break everything with a bat.” She finished with a long yawn.

In that moment he understood what all the books he’d read in his youth had tried to tell him. 

There was no great plan, you were not destined to meet someone or keep anyone in your life. The bond was just a way to bring you closer to other people. A way to understand and be understood. 

A way to silence the suffocating feeling of being alone. 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I know Au-gust finished like two weeks ago, but my life has been a mess. I actually finished this in august, but I didn't liked the end so I just leave it to rest with my other WIPs, and in a awsome moment of clarity I came with a better end, so I hope you like it. 
> 
> Big thanks to Emi and Mili for beta reading this when it was still a mess. You're awsome <3<3
> 
> And big shout out to my girl who was left on an island! Without you this fic would never seen the light. Thank you Ari <3<3 
> 
> As always remember english isn't my first language and all mistakes are mine.
> 
> Title from "Midnight Radio" from Hedwig and the Angry Inch.


End file.
